WEEK 1: Predictions and Promises

Thank God, the NFL is back.

And oh boy is it ever back. That Saints/Packers game was a classic. At one point, I believe it was when Rodgers was leading the Packers to their 21 points in the first quarter, I called my dad and theorized that Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth were actually playing a game of Madden 12.

Drew Brees and Rodgers did the Quarterback position a disservice by making it look so easy. They looked so good it was almost like they were calling the Defensive plays too.

And as a Drew Brees fantasy owner, I couldn't have been more tickled pink by his performance. I traded for him and a slew of other players for Michael Vick yesterday and felt like I betrayed a family member. 410 yards and 3 scores later, I feel good about my decision.

I almost felt incredible about my decision, but Sean Payton called a running play on the goalline with no time remaining in a move that had me cursing his name all night.

In the end, the Pack stuffed Mark Ingram instead of Drew Brees finding Jimmy Graham, and the Packers start the season 1-0.

Now its time to get on the record for the rest of the season (by the way, I had Pack winning 31-28.... so, so close). I'm going to try and do a weekly update through out the season about fantasy related issues and previewing upcoming games. We'll see how that works out though, remember, I am freshly married (in the process of adopting our daughter), working full time and going to school. So weekly updates could be a pipe dream. We'll see.

Lets start by looking at the games this week:

• Bills at Cheifs(-5 1/2) I think Charlie Sheen has a better chance of getting sober then Kansas City has in making the playoffs this year. Same with Buffalo. That being said, Stevie Johnson was a key member of my fantasy team last year. So I feel obligated to pick Buffalo. That being said, I will not be picking them to win in Arrowhead. KC wins but doesn't cover.



• Lions at Buccaneers (-1) I love LaGarrette Blount . So much, that I spell checked his first name to make sure I got it right. I did. Bucc's win. EDIT NOTE: Despite my Declaration that I had infact spelt Blount's name right- I didn't. On the original post, I didn't captialize the 'G'. We can all thank the Born Winner for pointing this out and simultaneously ruining my day



• Falcons(-3) at Bears Everyone thinks Chicago is destined to return to the celler of the NFC north this year. Alot of people also think Atlanta will regress. I have no feelings towards both teams. However, I did meet Bears fans on my honeymoon, so in honor of them- Chicago wins and we get to listen to a week of 'Jake Cutler is finally delivering the goods' stories.



• Eagles(-4 1/2) at Rams True or False, the St Louis Rams are your 2011 NFC West champions. False, the season hasn't started yet, dumbass. That being said, for fantasy purposes I hope Steven Jackson runs up and down on the Eagles and Michael Vick has a prison flash back (since I just traded him and Santonio Holmes for Drew Breese, Tim Hightower, Vincent Jackson and Danny Armendola).Sadly, I'm picking Eagles to win and cover.



• Colts at Texans (-9) Texans win, cover, and we begin the Colts impression of the season the Spurs tanked for Tim Duncan.



• Bengals at Browns (-7) Colt McCoy vs Andy Dalton, and this game isn't on my tv? How is that possible. In related news, Carson Palmer is still not a Seahawk. Bengals blow, Browns win and cover.



• Steelers at Ravens (-1) Years ago I made a rule that I will never bet against Tom Brady. It was a combonation of his 3 Superbowls and ultimately him saving my life during his 07 season. Ben Rothlisberger isn't quite 'Don't Ever Bet Against' but he is close. Dude just wins games. On the flipside, Joe Flacco does not inspire such confidence. Assualtisberger for the win.



• Titans at Jag's (-1) This game is going to suck for one of two reasons. Either the Titans look good, and I will spend the rest of my season missing Matt Hasselbeck (which I probably will regardless). Or the Titans suck and this game is unwatchable- since the Jag's will absolutely suck. Titans win, cover, and some.



• Panthers at Cardinals (-7) I want to say the Panthers cover, because I really don't like the Cardinals. But a rookie quarterback, on the road, in his first game? I gotta take AZ. Damn.



• Seahawks at Niners (-51/2) Screw the Niners, and screw conventional wisdom. Seahawks cover, win, then burn the city of San Fran to the ground for good measure. YOU HEAR ME TEEJAY!?!?! If you are reading this SEATTLE IS TAKING YOU DOWN.



• Giants (-3) at Redskins I'm officially driving Tim Hightowers bandwagon, please purchase your ticket before we leave the station. We will not come back for you. Redskins win.



• Vikings at Chargers (-9) I hate when Running Backs get paid. Thank Shaun Alexander for that. Adrian Peterson just pulled in a 100 million dollar extension. So I should hate Adrian Peterson, right? Well I don't. He is still the best RB alive. Chargers win, but the Vikes cover.



• Cowboys at Jets (5 1/2) Cowboys for the win. Thats all I'm going to say. If I stay on this game longer, I'm likely to change my opinion.



• Patriots (-7) at Miami Boil this one down to Henne vs Brady and you get my answer. Never Bet Against Brady is the cousin to Never Bet On Henne. They could've set this line at -10 and I would've bet on Brady to cover.



• Raiders at Bronco (-3) Denver seems like an organization that is ran with effiency and general know how. They hired Josh McDaniels two years ago to replace Mike Shannahan, quickly recognized their error and fired him during his second season. On the flipside, Al Davis runs his Raiders like he is a Sheik. He fired Tom Cable after he produced what might be the best Raider team in half a decade. Denver wins.
  

Now last year we started the Division predictions. Lets continue this tradition. In case you were wondering, Jesse did correctly pick the Superbowl winner. So he's got that going for him. And like last year, we took it to the pannel (we were going to do full division predictions, but the Born Winner fucked it up. So here are the playoff teams)

ME: St. Louis, Green Bay, New Orleands, Dallas Philladelphia(Wild Card) and Atlanta (Wild Card) San Diego, Pittsburg, Tennessee, New England, Baltimore (Wild Card) and New York (WIld Card) SUPERBOWL- New England over Green Bay

Jesse: St Louis, Green Bay, Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans (Wild Card) and Philladelphia (Wild Card) San Diego, Pittsburg, Houston, New England, New York (Wild Card) and Baltimore (Wild Card) SUPERBOWL- Green Bay over Pittsburg
Born Winner: St Louis, Green Bay, Tampa Bay Philladelphia, Dallas (Wild Card) and New Orleans(Wild Card) Denver, Pittsburg, Houston, New England, Cleveland (Wild Card) and New York (wild card) SUPERBOWL- New England over Green Bay

Couple interesting things to consider with these predictions, all three of us picked St Louis to win the NFC West, so that means Seattle will find a way to do it again. We also picked Green Bay to return, meaning Philladelphia will probably be as good as advertised and run through.